M4 Sherman
The M4 Sherman, formally Medium Tank, M4, was the primary tank used by the United States dureing WW2, it was in use from 1942 to the mid 1950s,where it contuined to be in use with countries that needed a relible medium tank. 'M4A1' the M1A1 was the initinal varient of the M4 Sherman tank, it had a one-piece cast hull and was armed 2 .30cal machine guns, one in the bow and one coaxel to the main gun, which was a low-velocity 75mm M3 main gun,mounted on a fully traversing turret. The original Shermans were powerful enough to defeat the relatively small German Panzerkampfwagen II and Imperal Panzerwagen M1921, though as the war progressed, the 75mm main gun became inadicuit against the german Panther and Tiger tanks, as well as the Imperal Panzersturmgeschutz M1941 tanks, whose armor easily defeted even the Armor Penetrateing rounds fired from the 75mm guns,but when the German and Imperal tanks returned fire with their superior 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70 and 8.8 cm KwK 36 L/56 guns, their large ammo easily punched though the 3 inchs of armor plateing, the sherman was easily destoryed, and as losses mounted, the tanks were upgraded. 'M4A2/A3' 2 of the better varients of the M4 Sherman tank series, the M4A2/A3 models were only different from another by engines used, though both usually mounted a high-velocity 76mm A1, which mostly fired HVAP (High-Velocity-Armor-Perceing) rounds,that in turn proved a slightly higher chance of penetrateing the thick german and imperal tanks armor, but the tanks still retained their basic 3 inchs of armor, putting them at a disadvange against the german and imperal tanks, as the shermans remained outmatched. 'M4A4/(FireFly)' the M4A4 varient was a upgrade that added a Chrysler A57 engine, a welded, lengthened hull, a standard 75-mm gun only as-built. Many were re-armed with British 17-Pounder Anti-Tank guns that proved to be superior to the United States 76mm A1 main cannon in terms of armor penetration,which gave it a better chance of takeing out the heavily armored German and Imperal tanks, though, mounting the Britsh 17-pounder gun didnt come without disadvanges, The recoil and muzzle blast could be severely jarring to Firefly crews and the muzzle blast frequently caused night blindness as well., another problem was the The cramped nature of the turret meant that loading the large 17 pounder shell was difficult so Fireflies had a reduced rate of fire compared to regular M4 Shermans. the large gun also ment that the gun cradle had to be shortened to allow the gun to fit into the tank, and thus the gun itself was not very stable.,a new barrel was also designed for the 17 pounder that was wider at the base, which helped solve the stability problem. 'M4A4E9 HVSS 105' the M4A4E9 HVSS 105 was one of the United States best Sherman varients, it kept the M4A4's Chrysler A57 engine but had been upgraded with a widetrack Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension (HVSS),which allowed it to have 6 inchs of armor plateing, along with ad-hoc added sandbags and slat iron bar armor, its 75/76mm main cannon was replaced either in the production factory or in the field with a 105mm M4 howitzer,which was coverted for Anti-tank duties so the howitzer's barrel was made thicker, as well as being rifled and the howitzer 105mm shells had been altered into a Armor Periceing rounds by putting a soft metal sheath over the round,allowing it to punch though the armor and destory the tank, this was one of the final changes to the sherman series, and was also one of the most succsesfull against the heavy German and Imperal tanks. Category:Vehicles of Note